Via PTI
NEW DELHI: The Union atmosphere ministry’s Professional Appraisal Committee has given its nod to the improvement of a strategically obligatory, multi-component mega challenge within the Nice Nicobar Island which is able to contain felling of round 8.5 lakh timber in pristine rainforests, lack of 12 to twenty hectares of mangrove quilt and substantial coral translocation.
The challenge comes to the improvement of a military-civil, dual-use airport; a global container trans-shipment terminal; a gasoline, diesel, and solar-based energy plant, and a township.
The Professional Appraisal Committee (EAC) counsel granting environmental and coastal regulatory zone clearance to the challenge in a gathering on August 22-23.
In step with a Union house ministry letter dated March 30 to the surroundings ministry, the airport proposed at Gandhi Nagar-Shastri Nagar space can be a joint military-civil, dual-use airport, below the operational keep watch over of the Indian Army.
“This challenge is for defence, strategic, nationwide safety, and public functions. In view of this, the portion of deliberation made for the airport factor will not be made public,” it stated.
The Nice Nicobar Island (GNI), which is the southernmost a part of the Indian territory, is among the maximum strategically essential spaces.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands supply India with a commanding geostrategic presence within the Bay of Bengal and get admission to to South and Southeast Asia.
The challenge is more likely to have an effect on 1,761 other people, together with the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities.
The island is house to uncommon natural world together with the leatherback sea turtles, Nicobar megapode — a flightless hen endemic to the Nicobar islands; Nicobar Macaque and saltwater crocodiles.
The challenge website is inside of a ten km radius of the Galathea Bay Nationwide Park and the Campbell Bay Nationwide Park however is outdoor the ecologically-sensitive zone notified across the two nationwide parks.
3 premier institutes — Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Natural world Institute of India (WII) and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Herbal Historical past (SACON) — supplied clinical inputs to the EAC at the have an effect on of the challenge at the natural world of the GNI.
“Whilst the ZSI categorically said in its advice that the proposed challenge won’t have have an effect on at the natural world of GNI and will also be mitigated thru stringent mitigation measures, the WII supplied wary inputs very particular to leatherback sea turtles, simplest suggesting that it has much less website constancy and will transfer to different appropriate nesting spaces in GNI,” the mins of the assembly learn.
The WII stated the challenge will also be undertaken however extra extensive overview and analysis is needed on leatherback sea turtle and its actions to craft site-specific mitigation technique, and recommended a 10-year roadmap to systematically put into effect mitigation measures.
The EAC stated it’s transparent that about 30 of the 51 lively nests of Nicobar megapode throughout the proposed challenge spaces will likely be completely destroyed.
SACON and WII have supplied a 10-year mitigation plan on this regard.
The Division of Setting and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Management has ready a mangrove conservation and control plan.
The coral quilt required to be translocated from the proposed website is round 10 hectares. Roughly 16,150 of the 20,668 coral colonies will likely be translocated.
The EAC has additionally directed the putting in of 3 unbiased committees to supervise air pollution similar issues, biodiversity and welfare and problems associated with Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.
The panel additionally requested the challenge proponent not to minimize timber in a single pass.
“Those will likely be performed in a phased means and relying at the development of the paintings on an annual foundation. Bushes with nesting holes of endemic owls to be recognized and geo-tagged with the assist from SACON. Such timber will likely be safeguarded, so far as conceivable,” it stated.
The committee stated protected flora and fauna corridors at 8 places alongside the jap facet of the island connecting woodland and beach thru via-ducts (increased crossings) at the north south arterial street must be supplied.
Additionally, culverts and cover crossings will likely be supplied at suitable places for motion of flora and fauna.
Using cars or any leisure approach on sea turtle nesting seashores will likely be strictly prohibited.
The A&N management has been directed to ascertain a unique scientific unit having state-of-art infrastructure, drugs and certified scientific body of workers at GNI inside of six months to watch human-induced sicknesses because of the predicted inflow of enormous home and global populations.
“All mechanisms should be in position to make certain that Shompen and Nicobarese aren’t uncovered to the dangers associated with presented sicknesses,” the EAC stated.
The committee stated the disposal of hazardous waste subject matter, together with batteries, insecticides, organochlorines and so forth, would now not be allowed within the GNI.
The waste generated all through the development and operation of the challenge must be recycled and reused and all rejects should be transported to the mainland for protected disposal.
No municipal landfills will likely be allowed at the island, it stated.
NEW DELHI: The Union atmosphere ministry’s Professional Appraisal Committee has given its nod to the improvement of a strategically obligatory, multi-component mega challenge within the Nice Nicobar Island which is able to contain felling of round 8.5 lakh timber in pristine rainforests, lack of 12 to twenty hectares of mangrove quilt and substantial coral translocation.
The challenge comes to the improvement of a military-civil, dual-use airport; a global container trans-shipment terminal; a gasoline, diesel, and solar-based energy plant, and a township.
The Professional Appraisal Committee (EAC) counsel granting environmental and coastal regulatory zone clearance to the challenge in a gathering on August 22-23.
In step with a Union house ministry letter dated March 30 to the surroundings ministry, the airport proposed at Gandhi Nagar-Shastri Nagar space can be a joint military-civil, dual-use airport, below the operational keep watch over of the Indian Army.
“This challenge is for defence, strategic, nationwide safety, and public functions. In view of this, the portion of deliberation made for the airport factor will not be made public,” it stated.
The Nice Nicobar Island (GNI), which is the southernmost a part of the Indian territory, is among the maximum strategically essential spaces.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands supply India with a commanding geostrategic presence within the Bay of Bengal and get admission to to South and Southeast Asia.
The challenge is more likely to have an effect on 1,761 other people, together with the indigenous Shompen and Nicobarese communities.
The island is house to uncommon natural world together with the leatherback sea turtles, Nicobar megapode — a flightless hen endemic to the Nicobar islands; Nicobar Macaque and saltwater crocodiles.
The challenge website is inside of a ten km radius of the Galathea Bay Nationwide Park and the Campbell Bay Nationwide Park however is outdoor the ecologically-sensitive zone notified across the two nationwide parks.
3 premier institutes — Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Natural world Institute of India (WII) and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Herbal Historical past (SACON) — supplied clinical inputs to the EAC at the have an effect on of the challenge at the natural world of the GNI.
“Whilst the ZSI categorically said in its advice that the proposed challenge won’t have have an effect on at the natural world of GNI and will also be mitigated thru stringent mitigation measures, the WII supplied wary inputs very particular to leatherback sea turtles, simplest suggesting that it has much less website constancy and will transfer to different appropriate nesting spaces in GNI,” the mins of the assembly learn.
The WII stated the challenge will also be undertaken however extra extensive overview and analysis is needed on leatherback sea turtle and its actions to craft site-specific mitigation technique, and recommended a 10-year roadmap to systematically put into effect mitigation measures.
The EAC stated it’s transparent that about 30 of the 51 lively nests of Nicobar megapode throughout the proposed challenge spaces will likely be completely destroyed.
SACON and WII have supplied a 10-year mitigation plan on this regard.
The Division of Setting and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Management has ready a mangrove conservation and control plan.
The coral quilt required to be translocated from the proposed website is round 10 hectares. Roughly 16,150 of the 20,668 coral colonies will likely be translocated.
The EAC has additionally directed the putting in of 3 unbiased committees to supervise air pollution similar issues, biodiversity and welfare and problems associated with Shompen and Nicobarese tribes.
The panel additionally requested the challenge proponent not to minimize timber in a single pass.
“Those will likely be performed in a phased means and relying at the development of the paintings on an annual foundation. Bushes with nesting holes of endemic owls to be recognized and geo-tagged with the assist from SACON. Such timber will likely be safeguarded, so far as conceivable,” it stated.
The committee stated protected flora and fauna corridors at 8 places alongside the jap facet of the island connecting woodland and beach thru via-ducts (increased crossings) at the north south arterial street must be supplied.
Additionally, culverts and cover crossings will likely be supplied at suitable places for motion of flora and fauna.
Using cars or any leisure approach on sea turtle nesting seashores will likely be strictly prohibited.
The A&N management has been directed to ascertain a unique scientific unit having state-of-art infrastructure, drugs and certified scientific body of workers at GNI inside of six months to watch human-induced sicknesses because of the predicted inflow of enormous home and global populations.
“All mechanisms should be in position to make certain that Shompen and Nicobarese aren’t uncovered to the dangers associated with presented sicknesses,” the EAC stated.
The committee stated the disposal of hazardous waste subject matter, together with batteries, insecticides, organochlorines and so forth, would now not be allowed within the GNI.
The waste generated all through the development and operation of the challenge must be recycled and reused and all rejects should be transported to the mainland for protected disposal.
No municipal landfills will likely be allowed at the island, it stated.